At the beginning of October, (Goldman Sach’s Sarah) Friar threw in the towel, pitching Microsoft out of her bank’s Americas Buy List and downgrading it to “neutral” — Wall Street’s euphemism for “dead money.” One of her complaints was the lack of a “coherent consumer strategy,” the very thing which Microsoft and (CEO Steve) Ballmer took such pains to lay out at the July (Financial Analysts Meeting). …

Coming only four months after Apple surpassed Microsoft in market value — until recently an unthinkable event — the downgrade brought into focus questions about Microsoft that are increasingly being asked by customers, investors and even some employees. Why hasn’t the stock moved in eight years, despite more than doubling profit and sales in that time? Is Microsoft really at the forefront of technology? Why can’t it invent popular gadgets like Google or Apple? Is Ballmer still the right person to lead the firm?

From the other side, Wall Street may have missed a subtle answer from Ballmer. The company is not Apple and can’t promise stellar growth or a rocketing share price any more. It is learning how to be a mature, fiscally responsible company that will return as much as it can to shareholders in other ways.

In this fashion, Microsoft may point the way for rising companies like Google, which one day will also face the issue of how to keep growth going beyond its initial success.